“I am so delighted to be a part of the J.L. Weigand Jr. Trust. From the outside looking in, I was in awe of the Weigand Family and the quality of lawyer and person that comprises it. I feel incredibly grateful and blessed to now be a part of that Family — it is an honor and privilege I do not take lightly.”
Jessica Kinnamon
University of Kansas
Weigand Scholar: 2023
Hometown:
Hutchinson, KS
Education:
B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, Yale University, 2020
- Senior thesis, titled Voting with Your Faith: The Role of Christianity in Modern American Politics and Economics, nominated for the William H. Orrick Prize
J.D., University of Kansas School of Law, 2023
Employment:
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jessica Kinnamon was born and raised in Hutchinson, Kansas. She received a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale University, where she also played NCAA Division I basketball. While at Yale, Jessica was a member of William F. Buckley, Jr. Program and the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She was and remains the president of the OX Secret Society for the Yale College class of 2020. Jessica’s senior thesis, titled Voting with Your Faith: The Role of Christianity in Modern American Politics and Economics, was nominated for the William H. Orrick Prize. In an effort to give back to the Yale community, Jessica now interviews promising Yale applicants from the Kansas City metro area for the Yale Admissions Office.
After internship experiences on Capitol Hill and in the intelligence community, Jessica returned home to attend the University of Kansas School of Law as a Rice Scholar. In her time at KU Law, Jessica earned CALI awards in Lawyering Skills II, Constitutional Law, Remedies, Media and the First Amendment, and Complex Litigation. Other awards include the Jack E. Dalton Legal Writing Award, Best Respondent’s Brief and Second Best Oralist at the Evans National Moot Court Competition on Constitutional Law, the Shook, Hardy & Bacon Advocacy Award, and the Most Outstanding Clinic Team Award for her work in KU Law’s Project for Innocence. She was a Comment Editor for the Kansas Law Review, was on Moot Court Council, and was the President of the KU Law Federalist Society. In 2023, Jessica graduated summa cum laude, as a member of Order of the Coif, and as an inductee into Phi Kappa Phi.
Following graduation, Jessica was a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 2024, Jessica moved to clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
“I grew up in central Kansas, and I know that central Kansas community was critical in shaping who I am –– and all I’ll accomplish. For this reason, I have long considered it a personal mission to give back to the state that has given so much to me. The J.L. Weigand Jr. Trust shares that same mission, and it has been a true blessing to join the effort alongside the Weigand Family.“